Foundation Grants George Washington University Researcher Annegers Fellowship

Posted: November 27, 2002

Jamie L. Maguire, pharmacology researcher at the George Washington University in Washington, D.C., has received the 2002 John F. Annegers Fellowship from the Epilepsy Foundation.

The Foundation grants the award to the highest-ranking pre-doctoral fellowship recipient each year.

Maguire's project is titled "The Role of Glutamate Transport in Giloma-Induced Epileptogenisis."

"Epilepsy is a disturbance of the excitability of the brain," explains Maguire in her research application. "Glutamate is primarily responsible for this excitation."

"The goal of this proposal," she says, "is to study whether glutamate removal from the site affected by a brain tumor could lead to new therapies."

"I am very excited and encouraged by the positive feedback I have received from the Foundation," says Maguire.

"I first became interested in epilepsy research because it is a syndrome triggered by many different things. It's a complex and fascinating disorder," she says.

The fellowship is named after the late John F. Annegers, Ph.D., of the University of Texas School of Public Health.

"We created this award in recognition of Fred's dedication and contribution to the field of epilepsy and to educating others," says Patricia O. Shafer, R.N., M.N., chair of the Foundation's Professional Advisory Board.

Annegers was a lead author of the Foundation's Cost of Epilepsy Study, which estimated that epilepsy costs the nation about $12.5 billion a year.